The present invention relates to a vehicular sliding console.
In recent years, in vehicles such as multi purpose vehicles (MPV) and sport utility vehicles (SUV), a sliding console, which is movable in a vehicle longitudinal direction, has been employed as a console arranged in the center of the vehicle to improve convenience.
For example, sliding consoles disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-264132, Japanese Patent No. 3621599, and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 62-194955 are each provided with a console main body, and a guide rail movably supporting the console main body. A lower portion of the console main body is provided with wheels rolling along the guide rail fixed to a floor panel of the vehicle, and a lock mechanism locking movement of the console main body with respect to the guide rail. The console main body is provided with an engagement portion engaging with a groove or a hole provided in the guide rail. The lock mechanism is operated with an operation lever provided in the console main body.
In the sliding consoles disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-264132 and Japanese Patent No. 3621599, the console main body locked by the lock mechanism is unlocked by moving a latch upward through the operation of the lever so that the latch is disengaged from the engagement hole of the guide rail. A recess is provided on a rear side surface of the console main body, and the operation lever is attached to the recess.
In the sliding console disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 62-194955, a lever for unlocking is connected to a block engaged with the lock groove of the guide rail with a wire. In accordance with the operation of the lever, the block engaged with the lock groove is pulled up, and the console main body is unlocked. The lever is provided on a rear side surface of the console main body. The block is pulled upward by rotating the handle rearward, and the console main body is unlocked.
In the case of the sliding consoles disclosed in the publications, the operation lever is provided on a rear side surface or a rear surface of the console main body. Accordingly, an occupant seated near the operation lever of the console main body can easily operate the operation lever. However, other occupants cannot easily operate the operation lever.
Accordingly, an operation lever may be provided on an upper surface of the console main body. In the case of the consoles disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-264132 and Japanese Patent No. 3621599, if the operation lever is arranged on the upper surface of the console main body, the latch is moved upward by pulling the operation lever upward, and the console main body is unlocked. Further, in the case of the console disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 62-194955, if the handle is arranged on the upper surface of the console, the block is pulled upward by pulling the handle upward, and the console main body is unlocked. However, since an operating direction of the lever does not agree with a moving direction of the console main body in accordance with these methods, it is impossible to smoothly carry out the operation from the unlocking of the console main body to the moving of the console main body.